1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wireless LAN device that performs wireless communication in a wireless network.
2. Description of the Background Art
In a wireless LAN (Local Area Network), the communication range is limited by the coverage area of the wireless LAN devices in the network. In order to remove such limitation, a technology called WDS (Wireless Distribution System) has been developed. In this system, when it is desired to perform communication over a wide area exceeding the coverage area of a wireless LAN device, a plurality of wireless LAN devices serving as access points are installed to wirelessly relay a packet between the access points. Meanwhile, a wireless LAN device compliant with the WDS is developed, which functions as a station to be connected to another access point, and as an access point that relays communication between stations connected to the wireless LAN device (refer to, for example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2009-303170). As described above, a wireless LAN device having a function of an access point and a function of a station can relay communication between another access point and a plurality of stations.
In such a wireless LAN device having both the function of an access and the function of a station, a process using a predetermined protocol is performed in order to establish a connection with another wireless LAN device. For example, using a protocol compliant with AOSS (trademark, AirStation One-Touch Secure System), WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup), or the like, automatic configuration of wireless connection information for encryption, authentication, or the like of network equipment may be performed. For example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2005-142907 discloses a process of configuring encryption information, which is performed between an access point and a station. However, when both an access point and a station are included in a wireless LAN device, a process using a protocol may be executed between the access point and the station in the wireless LAN device, which may cause a problem in that the information of the wireless LAN device may be configured in the device's own access point or station. One way to avoid such a problem is to specify which one of the access-point-side configuration process and the station-side configuration process should be performed. However, this has been found to cause complicated operation and/or a complicated device construction. Therefore, there has been a problem in that it has been difficult to realize configuration of the access point or the station by using a common trigger (for example, push-down of a button). Such a problem occurs not only when a wireless LAN device has the function of an access point and the function of a station but also when a wireless LAN device has both the function of one of two units performing a process using a protocol and the function of the other unit.